MP seeks Centre's help to locate missing boat

Udupi-Chikmagalur MP Shobha Karandlaje on Wednesday urged the Centre and the Maharashtra government to help trace the missing fishing boat from Malpe in Udupi district.

The fishing boat “Suvarna Tribuja” from Udupi with six fishermen has gone missing since December 13. Though 10 boats along with the missing boat ventured into the Arabian Sea for fishing from the Malpe port on December 13, there was no news about the boat so far, she said, in a memorandum to Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping.

Suspecting the handiwork of “Sindhudurg Mafia” from Sindhudurg in Maharasthra, she said the gang was notorious for hijacking shipping boats in the Arabian Sea. Earlier too, one of the fishing boats from Udupi was hijacked mid-sea by the gang and was later released after the boat owner paid Rs 20 lakh to the gang. However, the owner of the boat did not file a police complaint fearing for life, she told reporters here.

Shobha said even the coastal guards are not able to trace the boat and there was no news of the boat sinking in the sea.